Quietly Finishing the Job That Walsh Started

When the meddling and the mayhem became too much, Donnie Walsh extracted himself from Madison Square Garden and retreated 700 miles to the west, his work unfinished.

Over three years as their president, Walsh had given the Knicks respectability and relevance, but they still needed defenders, shooters and playmakers. They needed an architect savvy enough to complete Walsh’s blueprint, and bold enough to execute it.

Ten months later — detached from the daily grind, still tethered by contract and sentiment — Walsh judges his successor with gleeful approval.

The N.B.A.’s executive of the year trophy rarely goes to a team with a middling record, but Grunwald demands consideration, for the December shopping spree that brought Tyson Chandler, Baron Davis, Steve Novak and Jeremy Lin to New York and for the risky-bold signing of J. R. Smith in February.

Chandler’s passion has transformed the Knicks’ defense from indifferent to dominant.

Novak has become one of the league’s most feared 3-point shooters.

Lin simply saved the season.

When Lin was lost, Davis saved the Knicks from despair.

The tempestuous Smith, though ever unpredictable, is now playing a vital sixth man’s role.

Whatever the Knicks may become, it will be largely because of Walsh’s diligence, tearing down a lifeless roster to make room for Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and high-value, low-cost role players. Yet stars are never enough, and the roster that Walsh left behind for Grunwald needed massaging.

Photo

Glen GrunwaldCredit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

“Glen has filled in the right spots,” Walsh said, speaking by telephone from his Indianapolis home, where he is a consultant to the Knicks. “Getting Chandler was monumental.”

It all looks obvious with the benefit of four months of games and hindsight. It was not so obvious in mid-December, when the N.B.A. lockout gave way to a frenzied free-agent rush.

Acquiring Chandler required the Knicks to waive Chauncey Billups, their only proven point guard — effectively sacrificing playmaking for defense. Fans questioned the wisdom of a deal that left the backcourt empty. Rival executives questioned Chandler’s price tag, $56 million, which was viewed as risky given his offensive limitations and injury history.

No one questions the move now. The Knicks, through Friday, boasted the N.B.A.’s fifth-best defensive efficiency rating, after ranking 23rd last season. Chandler is universally credited for the transformation and is a favorite for defensive player of the year. He also leads the league in field-goal percentage (.681) and is averaging a double-double, with 11.3 points and 10 rebounds.

Even Grunwald is blown away by the results.

“You never really know how it’s going to work out,” Grunwald said last week in a rare interview. “He’s better than we could have hoped, and his impact on the team has been just awesome.”

Executives are generally judged by their splashiest acquisitions. Yet two of Grunwald’s best moves were the least noticed. On Dec. 22, he claimed the rights to Novak, who had been waived by San Antonio. Five days later, he claimed Lin, who had been waived by Houston.

In February, with the Knicks listing at 9-15 and Anthony hurt, Lin spearheaded the seven-game winning streak that turned the season around. Novak, overlooked until that point, blossomed instantaneously into a 3-point ace, and leads the league with a .466 percentage from the arc.

No one foresees a Linsanity streak. No one would have predicted that Novak, after five forgettable seasons, would suddenly become the N.B.A.’s top shooter. But the best executives find the hidden gems, the undervalued talents, and put them in a position to shine.

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Steve Novak and Tyson Chandler are among the key acquisitions by Glen Grunwald, the Knicks’ interim general manager.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Grunwald had kept tabs on Lin ever since the Knicks worked him out in 2010. He had been following Novak for years and received endorsements through a mutual acquaintance.

“You’re happy for them,” Grunwald said. “They get an opportunity, they make the most of it, they work hard and they’re good people.”

He added: “You’re just glad that things worked out better than anticipated. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen.”

He laughed. Grunwald has been around the N.B.A. long enough to see things go the other way quickly. For seven years, he was mostly celebrated as the Toronto Raptors’ general manager, until his dismissal in 2004. He served as Walsh’s understudy for three years, until Garden politics drove Walsh away last June.

Walsh’s bold personality and garrulous nature never fit with a staid Garden culture that discourages independent voices and considers candor a sin. There are no such concerns with Grunwald, a man of quiet dignity who is content to work in the shadows, making big moves but not big waves.

By personal preference, and perhaps out of self-preservation, Grunwald has turned down all interview requests until now.

“I think I am sort of a low-key guy,” he said in the telephone interview, which was brief. “I think it’s better for the organization, too.”

Even now, after 10 months of steady leadership, Grunwald carries the unfortunate title of interim general manager, with no guarantees. True to his nature, he will not address the uncertainty, other than to say “I want to stick with the Knicks in whatever role Mr. Dolan would like to have me” and “Hopefully, we have brighter days ahead of us.”

Even from 700 miles away, it is easy to see that Grunwald has earned a longer look.

“I’d like to see good things happen for him,” Walsh said.

A version of this article appears in print on April 22, 2012, on page SP4 of the New York edition with the headline: Quietly Finishing the Job That Walsh Started. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe